Why Alcaraz is 'red hot favourite' for third Wimbledon title

BBC News

5 hours ago

Carlos Alcaraz arrived in London with "no expectations" but with Wimbledon only eight days away he has sent an ominous message to his rivals as he seeks a third successive title.The world number two beat Jiri Lehecka in the final at Queen's, claiming the crown for the second time and extending his winning streak - the longest of his career - to a remarkable 18 matches.After beating Roberto Bautista Agut in Saturday's semi-final, the Spaniard said "grass-court mode is activated".He wasn't lying.This fourth grass-court title means that Serbia's Novak Djokovic is the only active player to have more titles on the surface than Alcaraz."I came here with no expectations at all," Alcaraz said. "I just came here with a goal to play two, three matches, try to feel great on grass moving and give myself the feedback of what I have to improve."But I got used to the grass really quick, and I'm just really proud about it. My goal was complete, and I'm not talking about lifting the trophy or making the final."Alcaraz's last defeat came back in April against Holger Rune in the Barcelona Open final and he has reached five successive ATP finals, picking up four titles.Winning Queen's is a good omen for Alcaraz. He lifted the title in 2023 and then went on to triumph at Wimbledon.Just eight men have completed that double within the same summer in the Open era."You can't really expect better form for him to come into Wimbledon, he's obviously the player to beat," former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash said on BBC Radio 5 Live."I wouldn't back against him winning the title at Wimbledon ... Alcaraz, red hot favourite for sure."
Alcaraz aiming for rare summer double
Alcaraz has won five Grand Slam titles across three events, with the Australian Open the only trophy missing from his swelling cabinet.The 22-year-old's sole US Open triumph came in 2022 and he sealed a first Wimbledon title the following year.In 2024, he doubled up and became one of just six men in the Open era to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same season, following in the footsteps of Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Djokovic.Nadal (2008 and 2010) and Borg (1978, 1979, 1980) are the only men to have won the clay and grass-court Grand Slams in the same season on more than one occasion."Alcaraz had a great French Open and to win the French Open and Wimbledon used to be almost impossible ... but in latter years because the grass courts are much harder with a higher bounce we've seen it happen quite a few times," Cash added."It's still a huge effort because the exhaustion to win a Grand Slam is extreme and he's come over here and won this title as well."This month's Roland Garros final was particularly draining as Alcaraz fought back from two sets down to beat world number one Jannik Sinner in a classic that was the longest French Open final at five hours and 29 minutes.Alcaraz heads to the All England Club looking to join another elite club.Just three men have won at least three successive Wimbledon titles in the Open Era.Borg won five in a row between 1976 and 1980, with Pete Sampras winning three on the bounce (1993-1995) before bettering that achievement when he won four successive titles between 1997 and 2000.Roger Federer was the most recent to achieve that feat when the Swiss dominated across five years from 2003 through to 2007.Alcaraz has consistently shone on grass courts and he is fifth active male player to collect four or more titles on the surface, joining Djokovic (eight), Matteo Berrettini (four), Taylor Fritz (four) and Nicolas Mahut (four).And he is just one of three Spanish men to win four grass-court tournaments after Nadal and Feliciano Lopez.But Alcaraz has claimed his fourth at a much younger age - Nadal was 29 and Lopez was 37.
Has Alcaraz raised game for Sinner?
Alcaraz has lost just five times in 2025 but four of those defeats came in the opening three months of the year.Djokovic, Lehecka, Jack Draper, David Goffin all recorded victories over Alcaraz before March was over and Rune is the only person to beat him since.The losses against Lehecka, Draper and Goffin coincided with Sinner's absence from the circuit while the Italian served a three-month ban for failing two doping tests.Sinner returned in May just after Alcaraz had embarked on his current 18-match win streak.Alcaraz seemed to raise his game when he knew his rival was incoming and beat the Italian twice in the clay-court swing, including in the French Open final.The pair have been widely hailed as the future of tennis and many believe they are primed to dominate once Novak Djokovic - the only active member of the 'Big Four' - calls it a day.
Breaks helped Alcaraz get 'joy back again'
Alcaraz has been reaping the benefits of striking the right balance between work and life during 2025.After losing against Draper in the semi-finals at Indian Wells, Alcaraz said he was feeling "too much hate" and made the call to take a short break in Cancun, Mexico to recharge.He did the same after his French Open win, opting for a short trip to Ibiza to switch off from the relentless demands of the ATP circuit."That was the key, just to have five, six days off, not grabbing a racquet, not stepping on the court," Alcaraz said."After the vacation that I had in Cancun with my family, I just got the joy back, and I start to enjoy playing tennis again, to enjoy step on the court, competing again."Alcaraz is not playing any other tournaments before Wimbledon but is not planning to sneak in a quick holiday.Instead, he intends to explore what London has to offer."I can't go back home. I'm going to stay here in London, hopefully enjoy London a little bit," Alcaraz added."Let's see how it's going to be in the next days, but I'm going to have my days off to rest up, to enjoy, and then be back and preparing for Wimbledon in the best way possible."